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Central Railways collects Rs 300 cr from ticketless passengers in FY 2023-24

3 ticket collectors create record, collect over Rs 1 cr each

Central Railways fine MumbaiAmong the six divisions, the Mumbai one of the CR led in revenue collection, amassing Rs 115.29 crore from 20.56 lakh cases. (File)

For the fiscal year 2023-24, the Central Railways (CR) has collected Rs 300 crore in revenue from passengers travelling without tickets and through unbooked luggage on its mail, express, and local train services.

Through an official statement on Friday, the CR said that this revenue figure exceeded the CR’s set annual target of Rs. 265.97 crore by 12.80 per cent. This, it said, was a result of the number of cases involving ticketless passengers and unbooked luggage increasing by 8.38 per cent to 42.63 lakh.

Among the six divisions, the Mumbai one of the CR led in revenue collection, amassing Rs 115.29 crore from 20.56 lakh cases. This was followed closely by the Bhusaval division, which generated Rs 66.33 crore from 8.34 lakh cases. The Nagpur division secured Rs 34.52 crore from 5.70 lakh cases, while the Solapur division yielded Rs 34.74 crore from 5.44 lakh cases. The Pune division contributed Rs 28.15 crore from 3.74 lakh cases, and the Headquarters division collected Rs. 20.96 crore from 2.47 lakh cases.

It is interesting to note that three ticketing inspectors from the Mumbai division, Sunil Nainani, M M Shinde, and Dharmendra Kumar, set a record in revenue collection from ticketless passengers through the collection of Rs 1 crore this fiscal year.

Nainani, a member of the mainline flying squad in the Mumbai division of CR, was authorised to conduct ticket checks on long-distance and local trains from CSMT to Igatpuri.

“I typically work the night shift, beginning my day with a 3am train and travel up to Igatpuri to catch the maximum number of ticketless passengers. I am grateful that my seniors have consistently supported my work and assisted me during challenging times, as being a ticket checker is not an easy job. Often, we encounter uncooperative individuals. However, I always try to explain to them that traveling without a ticket is wrong. I also guide them on how they can easily purchase a ticket online now,” he said.

Nainani, who is set to retire next year, has served as a ticket checker for the past 30 years. Initially, he was assigned to a different division of CR in Mumbai. He mentioned that for the last three years, he consistently surpassed the Rs 1 crore revenue collection target.

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Reflecting on his experience as a ticket collector, he noted that recovering penalties from passengers was a time-consuming process, taking at least two hours per transaction and could not proceed to the next one until this was done. However, with online payment options being introduced, this process has become significantly easier. He emphasised that this saved a lot of time.

Out of the three ticket checkers, Nainani collected Rs. 1.92 crore this year from 20,117 cases. Followed by M M Shinde, the chief ticket inspector, who collected Rs. 1.59 crore from 18,223 cases. Dharmendra Kumar, the travelling ticket inspector, collected Rs. 1.52 crore from 17,641 cases.

A Mumbai division CR official mentioned that unlike private employees who are incentivised for achieving job targets, government employees are recognised for their work with a word of appreciation. In addition to their monthly salary, ticket checkers receive a traveling allowance based on their basic salary. For example, if a ticket checker completes an eight-hour duty and travels up to Igatpuri in a day, they are paid a traveling allowance that can go up to Rs. 10,000 or more in a month, which is paid along with salary.

Shinde, echoed these sentiments. He proudly recalled being the first to generate Rs 1 crore in revenue from ticketless travelers for the Indian Railways in 2013 during his tenure as part of the flying squad spanning five divisions of the Central Railway. For the past eighteen months, he has been a member of the Mumbai division flying squad, primarily conducting ticket checks on long-distance trains along the CSTM-Panvel-Igatpuri route.

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